PLANK AUGUST 9, 2012
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That Republican primary season you thought you witnessed? Just a figment of your imagination. That’s the message the Romney people hope to convey later this month at the GOP convention in Tampa, according to Jeremy Peters in the Aug. 9 New York Times. Almost none of the leading Republican contenders for the nomination will be offered an opportunity to speak. Newt Gingrich? They’ve got him sidelined running workshops. Rick Perry? Herman Cain? Michelle Bachmann? Ron Paul? They’ve been given no role at all. The Donald’s been stiffed as well (not that he was ever a particularly serious candidate). I could have sworn someone called Sarah Palin was on the presidential ticket four years ago, but that must not be true, because she hasn’t been asked to speak either. Rick Santorum is the only major primary contender who will be permitted to speak.
If I were Mitt Romney I’d do the same. The 1992 Republican convention was so frightening that some people blame it for President George H.W. Bush’s defeat that year—and that was with just one gargoyle, Pat Buchanan, at the podium. The prospect of half a dozen or more is potentially catastrophic for Romney’s chances. But think about it. Today’s Republican party is so out of control that it cannot afford to put most of its primary presidential candidates on television. The GOP’s leading lights are so extremist, or weird, or just plain dim, that they must be stashed away in the attic, like the first Mrs. Rochester.
One interesting question is whether the party will stand for it. Republicans are usually better at the obedience thing than Democrats, but the hard right is unusually restless this year. Romney’s already drawing ire from the knuckle-draggers because a spokesperson had the bad judgment to praise Romney’s health care bill in Massachusetts, and if Romney doesn’t name Paul Ryan (a genuinely bad choice) for the veep slot they’ll come to the convention ready for mutiny. That could take the form of defiant extremism in the speeches of those who are permitted to mount the podium; it could even take the form of Chicago 1968-style unrest outside the arena (though I’m trying not to get my hopes up).
Romney once said that the only appropriate place to discuss income inequality was in “quiet rooms.” That's where his primary competitors will be the week of Aug. 27. I hope the walls are padded.
6 comments
Another notable absence: that guy who was president the eight years before Obama.
- krlong014
August 9, 2012 at 3:12pm
As above. How about their last Presidential candidate? I think Romney has barely bottled up the hatred and if he loses it will explode.
- stanmvp48
August 9, 2012 at 3:30pm
I doubt very much that the Repubs will be able to keep the loonies under wraps this time. I predict that at least one speaker will call Obama a socialist, and that this will not be the looniest thing said.
- GeoffG
August 9, 2012 at 3:52pm
Ah, Tampa. It's hot and sticky. Real sticky. I hope TNR is preparing for the trip to the tropics. We've had some exciting news of late. Our Republican governor, Rick Scott, the former CEO of the big hospital chain HCA when it was accused of a massive Medicare fraud scheme and paid the largest fine in history ($1.7 billion) for its misdeeds, was in the news recently when HCA was charged with another massive Medicare fraud scheme. An example of executive leadership. Scott's lt. governor, Jennifer Carroll, was recently accused of being in a “compromising position” with a staff member, a female staff member, and responded to the charge by saying "black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that". I've already commented in TNR that Tampa's leading citizen and philanthropist is in the business of helping companies out-source. I read today that the next few weeks should bring a sharp increase in hurricane activity and intensity. Maybe the convention will be canceled, then nobody will be allowed to give a speech. There's always hope, and the power of prayer. [Yes, the photo is the site of the convention, and home to the Tampa Bay Lightening hockey team. Oddly, the convention will be held in the Times Forum and not the convention center a block or two away. The photo is looking to the east toward the port and Ybor City (pronounced Ebor). The photo is taken (I believe) from the Marriott Hotel next to the convention center. From both the Forum and the convention center you look across the canal and out toward the Bay at Davis Islands (plural) and Harbor Island. The significance is that the former is the home (the very large home) of my favorite Yankee, the latter the former location of the phosphate docks (before it was developed) and now the home of thousands who are clueless about the history of the island (clue: you don’t need a flashlight at night).]
- rayward
August 9, 2012 at 4:27pm
Great column, and title. Yes, the 1992 convention is why I didn't vote for George H.W. Bush for reelection- I did vote for him in 1988, However Obersturmbannfuhrer Buchanan scared the bejesus out of me in '92 with his talk of marching and taking back the streets. And speaking of weird and extremist, why does Santorum get a speaking slot?
- dubyadoubte
August 9, 2012 at 4:38pm
Bien sur, the Cheneys are always available for speaking engagements on really short notice . And let's not forget that old favorite Rudy Giuliani who could keep law and order in Tampa during the convention when he isn't sharing his recollections of 9/11. The notion that the Republican field is a mile wide and a few inches deep may not be correct but then again.....
- Doug12
August 9, 2012 at 5:20pm